Science has long barely noticed the alarming increase in inflammatory diseases. This is not too surprising, because differences are best recognized when comparisons can be made. Contrasts catch the eye, but a continuous increase from a low level, as with the inflammatory diseases, easily escapes attention. Inflammatory diseases were so rare for such a long time that they were not on the screen. They are also not directly fatal and not contagious, which is why they also remained under the radar of doctors.